Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon testify to legatine court

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)
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Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon appear before the legatine court at Blackfriars, to testify to the validity or otherwise of their marriage. Catherine had previously been married to Henry's elder brother Arthur, and the couple had required a papal dispensation to marry in the first place, since marriage to a brother's widow was otherwise disallowed. Thus the question of marital validity depends in part on interrogating Catherine as to whether her marriage to Arthur was ever consummated, a humiliating process for the English queen.

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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon testify to legatine court". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 November 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=14422, accessed 19 March 2024.]

14422 Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon testify to legatine court 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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